(MissionNewswire) Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Fambul, one of Sierra Leone’s leading child-welfare organizations in Freetown, immediately responded with relief efforts for those affected by flooding and mudslides that occurred on Aug. 14, 2017. Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, lies between the mountains and the sea. The intense rain caused a mudslide on Mount Sugar Loaf in the Regent District on the outskirts of Freetown. The mudslide occurred at 6 a.m. when most of the community residents were still sleeping—leaving them more vulnerable to the rising waters.

August 30, 2017, Vienna, Austria. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved an emergency assistance grant to help procure essential relief supplies for mudslide victims in Sierra Leone and support emergency operations. The grant will be channeled through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

DAKAR, Aug 18 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Donor pledges are pouring in from countries across the world to aid Sierra Leone after a mudslide devastated the capital this week, killing at least 400 people and leaving 3,000 homeless.

Dozens of houses were engulfed by mud when a mountainside collapsed in the town of Regent, on the edge of Freetown, on Monday - in one of Africa's deadliest mudslides in decades.

Thousands of vulnerable people in dire need following mudslides in Sierra Leone are to begin receiving urgent help today, following the decision yesterday by a global network of NGOs to fund six rapid-response projects.

Vienna, Austria, February 22, 2016. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed new public sector loan and grant agreements totaling over US$60m to help boost socio-economic development in nine partner countries. The agreements were signed by OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish and high-ranking officials of the beneficiary countries, including HE Amara M. Konneh, Minister, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning of Liberia; and HE Mubin Mirzaev, Deputy Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan.

Vienna, Austria, December 11, 2015. Over 24 partner countries stand to benefit from the latest round of financing approved at the 153rd Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

Public sector approvals amount to nearly US$154m and comprise the following: See complete table

Grant funding totaling US$3.36m was also approved for the following projects/programs:

Vienna, Austria, February 6, 2015. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed a US$400,000 grant agreement with Cuba to support Cuban medical brigades deployed for Ebola treatment/containment missions in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The agreement was signed by OFID Director-General, Mr Suleiman J Al-Herbish and HE Ileana Núñez Mordoche, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba.

Vienna, Austria, February 6, 2015. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed a US$400,000 grant agreement with Cuba to support Cuban medical brigades deployed for Ebola treatment/containment missions in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

The agreement was signed by OFID Director-General, Mr Suleiman J Al-Herbish and HE Ileana Núñez Mordoche, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba.

USD 35 Million grant The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia

JEDDAH, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, December 11, 2014/ -- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has extended a grant of US$35 million to help fight Ebola in West Africa.

In an address to American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Bill Gates says that the Ebola epidemic underscores the urgent need for R&D to stay ahead of emerging disease threats, and declares that new drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines can eradicate malaria by the middle of the 21st Century.

SEATTLE (September 10, 2014) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that it will commit $50 million to support the scale up of emergency efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and interrupt transmission of the virus.

The latest outbreak and spread of Ebola in West Africa is a distressing development – especially for the families and communities directly affected, of course, but for government leaders and the global health community as well.

We admire the courage of frontline responders, such as Doctors Without Borders, who have done a heroic job with extremely limited resources. And we strongly support broader international efforts to respond swiftly to the crisis.

Vienna, Austria, August 4, 2014. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved an emergency assistance grant of US$500,000 to support the activities of the World Health Organization (WHO) in stopping the spread of the deadly Ebola virus which has claimed hundreds of lives in West Africa. The grant has been extended as a result of discussions between the Director General of OFID, Mr Suleiman J. Al-Herbish and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Dr Kandeh Yumkella.

The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated US$235,000 to UNICEF and WHO in response to the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. The main bilateral donors providing Official Development Assistance (ODA) are the UK and the EC – both have provided funding for the crisis (DFID-US$340,000 to Sierra Leone; and EC –US$3.3 regionally).

From a regional perspective, the majority of funding to the Ebola crisis has been received by Guinea (US$4.07m). Liberia has received US$0.18m, while Sierra Leone has received slightly more (US$0.23m).

Vienna, Austria, March 18, 2014. Meeting in its 146th Session, the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved financing of nearly US$264 million to boost socio-economic development in over 30 partner countries. Of the new commitments, over US$193m will support 10 public sector loans and nine grants. The bulk of the public sector funding will co-finance agriculture, transportation, education, energy, health and water supply and sanitation projects.

Vienna, Austria, June 17, 2013. The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), meeting in its 143rd Session on June 13, has approved 17 loans and grants totaling over US$234 million to boost socio-economic development in over 44 partner countries. The majority of the public sector funding will co-finance transportation, energy and water supply and sanitation projects.

Vienna, Austria, December 12, 2012. The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), meeting in its 141st Session, has approved 22 loans and grants totaling nearly US$300 million to boost socio-economic development in 23 partner countries. The bulk of the public sector loans will co-finance projects aimed at enhancing the transportation and energy sectors of the recipient countries, as well as the agriculture, education and health sectors.